As I may have mentioned last year when I reviewed “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” I am a lover of all things pirate (with the exception of those dudes from Somalia with machine guns who just do it wrong . . . obviously they’ve never read “Treasure Island” . . . they don’t even have parrots.) and “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” is no exception. This animated film, the latest by Aardman Animations, is based on a series of funny little books by Gideon Defoe. The books are full of anachronistic cameos and jokes, and I was glad to see the movie do the same.
The movie follows the aptly named “Pirate Captain” in his quest to earn the Pirate of the Year award from his fellow pirates. In his struggling pursuit of pirate glory, he comes across the equally struggling scientist, Charles Darwin. The two believe their friendship may be mutually beneficial when Darwin realizes the Pirate Captain’s beloved fat parrot is actually a dodo, and the Captain realizes a dodo could bring in some serious loot when presented to the scientific community. From there, the movie follows a pretty predictable trajectory of highs and lows, but it never loses heart.
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” has several things going for it. The film does an excellent job of making the Pirate Captain a sympathetic character. It’s this story-first approach to filmmaking that makes a studio like Pixar so successful. The movie also takes a “shotgun” method to humor. The jokes can be hit or miss, but they throw so many at you that you’re bound to chuckle at something! Finally, and should all else fail, the movie is a feast for the eyes. There is nothing quite like stop-motion animation and Aardman does it as well as anyone else — and better than most. Combined with modern computer-generated movie making, I wonder why more studios don’t do it regularly. There’s so much to see in this movie, and it’s all done with such expert precision that I’ll have to see it several more times before I’m finally satisfied!
“Band of Misfits” is a very cute, well-made movie and that’s easily worth the price of admission. If you’re still on the fence about the concept of pirate movies after last year’s “On Stranger Tides,” make it a matinee and swashbuckle the afternoon away, stop-motion style.
Four “Pirate of the Year Awards” out of Five!
The movie follows the aptly named “Pirate Captain” in his quest to earn the Pirate of the Year award from his fellow pirates. In his struggling pursuit of pirate glory, he comes across the equally struggling scientist, Charles Darwin. The two believe their friendship may be mutually beneficial when Darwin realizes the Pirate Captain’s beloved fat parrot is actually a dodo, and the Captain realizes a dodo could bring in some serious loot when presented to the scientific community. From there, the movie follows a pretty predictable trajectory of highs and lows, but it never loses heart.
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” has several things going for it. The film does an excellent job of making the Pirate Captain a sympathetic character. It’s this story-first approach to filmmaking that makes a studio like Pixar so successful. The movie also takes a “shotgun” method to humor. The jokes can be hit or miss, but they throw so many at you that you’re bound to chuckle at something! Finally, and should all else fail, the movie is a feast for the eyes. There is nothing quite like stop-motion animation and Aardman does it as well as anyone else — and better than most. Combined with modern computer-generated movie making, I wonder why more studios don’t do it regularly. There’s so much to see in this movie, and it’s all done with such expert precision that I’ll have to see it several more times before I’m finally satisfied!
“Band of Misfits” is a very cute, well-made movie and that’s easily worth the price of admission. If you’re still on the fence about the concept of pirate movies after last year’s “On Stranger Tides,” make it a matinee and swashbuckle the afternoon away, stop-motion style.
Four “Pirate of the Year Awards” out of Five!
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